


a show of gratitude

by aetherae



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Gen, it's too bad we didn't see estelle interact w/ the four spirits more, so of course this is here to rectify that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 16:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5424290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aetherae/pseuds/aetherae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a title Estelle carries with pride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a show of gratitude

For Estelle, life changes in a lot of ways after Tarqaron. She spends her time writing more often than not, and when she isn’t, it’s for political meetings and discussions with both the Empire and the Guilds. The traveling companions who became friends who became family are all following their own paths now, in their own ways; she sees them less, even if she never lessens in fondness. Some changes are sad, while some are happy, but they’re all changes she’s come to see, and welcome, as inevitable.

There’s just one that takes her by surprise.

With the transformation of every apatheia—every dead Entelexeia soul—into a living, breathing spirit comes the arrival of hundreds upon hundreds of newborn yet old, wide-eyed yet wise, nameless creatures, reincarnations of a former life but with no identity of their own. If she thinks about it, it’s not surprising that these new beings would want a name with which to live their new life.

She just didn’t think so many of them would come to her.

“It is the most convenient way,” Undine tells her one day as she takes a brief break from her novel. Spirits roam freely among the earth now, constrained by neither physical forms nor beliefs. The first four are no different, but even after Tarqaron and Duke, they never truly leave her either. Estelle can always feel them, deep in her heart, no matter where they are. “Would you not also tire of conversations like ‘Ah, I remember you! You were so-and-so before, but now you are not. Who are you now? How can you be sure that is who you are?’?”

Estelle giggles, slouching in her chair in a remarkable non-princess-like fashion. Having the comfort of her own private home in Halure is one of the other changes she’s pleased by. “You make a good point. I guess it’s just… Nerve-wracking, in a way.”

Not all Spirits come to her asking for names, their newfound knowledge as spirits never tempering their disdain for humans as Entelexeia entirely. She doesn’t blame them in the least for it. For those that do come to her though, it’s an intimidating process every time. The spirits, perhaps even more so than the Entelexeia, are long-lived. They will outlast her by ages and eras, yet they ask her for the name with which they’ll live these lives.

Volt, Rider of Lightning. Luna, the Moon’s Second Face. Aska, Light-Bringer. Pluto, King of the Dead. Verius, Queen of the Heart. Estelle’s glad to be so well-read now, if only because it gives her places to pull names from.

“It shouldn’t be,” Sylph says, a laugh light in her voice as she flies circles around Estelle. “Everyone likes the names you give, even the ones who don’t get one from you. We’re thankful.”

“Really? I agree that a name is important, but… You all could’ve picked anything you liked. You don’t have to be thankful towards me for it.”

Gnome shakes his head at her feet, and when she looks up, Efreet floats before her, the weight of his posture belying the simple belief in his words. “You made us. You named us. There could be no greater gift.”

“Which is why we have decided to bestow you with a name as well,” Undine says, ever placid and calm expression lilting just slightly into a smile. “If you would accept it, of course.”

Estelle blinks. “Me? What would you name me?”

“Maxwell. It is from an old language, even older than the one you use for us. There are few who still remember.”

Maxwell. She repeats it quietly to herself, tests cadence of it as it rolls off her tongue. It’s not like ‘princess’ or ‘lady,’ titles she’s used to hearing thrown around ease. There’s a certain respect already inherent in the name. “Does it mean anything in particular?”

The water spirit dips her head, and the others follow suit. “It was a word, a name, used for those whom one was thankful to. It elevated them, giving them the highest honor one could give. So in this case—Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits.”

“Lord of Spirits?!” Estelle sputters, looking around at each of the spirits in her room. Each looks calm and content in Undine’s words, and she couldn’t be more confused by it. “But—I don’t deserve a title like that! It’s not as if I rule over you all. No one could.”

“That is true. Our lives are yet young, but even in the future, I don’t believe we will ever answer to anyone but ourselves,” Efreet replies.

“But you made us. Without you, none of us spirits would ever have existed,” Sylph says, and when Gnome makes an insisting noise, she nods. “Gnome says it, too. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Undine lifts her head, and even with her eyes closed, Estelle thinks she must be able to see the surprise in her eyes as clear as day. “We—all the spirits—wished to show you our gratitude, and this was the only way we knew how. Will you not allow us the honor of bestowing it upon you?”

Something swells in Estelle’s heart. One day, the existence of spirits will be commonplace in Terca Lumireis, not a newfound existence that needs adjustment. Someday long into the future, the people will look to them as a natural part of the world. The days where they never even existed will be long forgotten in the past, perhaps the same as everything else that existed in the world of now. Yet for all the inevitability of the passage of time, these spirits would carry her with them, in their own way. They would remember her.

She couldn’t be more touched.

“I think I’m the one who should be honored,” she laughs, wiping at the corner of her eye. When she looks back up at the spirits before her, it’s with clear eyes and a full smile. “Yes, of course! If you still wish it, I would be more than happy to accept this name.”

Titles have never meant much to Estelle, not as a potential heir and not as a permanent princess, but this? This is one she’ll always treasure.

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i just think it's really silly that estelle never got a maxwell title in game LOL. it didn't even have to be a cutscene or anything like this, but come on. not only does she control the big 4 spirits, she actually CREATES them. her getting a title like "maxwell. one who has mastered the four elements." would've been a nice nod back to the franchise in general!!


End file.
